Confectionery-coating machine



Oct. 16, 1928.

J. MASSARELLA CONFEGTIONERY COATING momma Filed Oct. 2. 1926 altozneq Patent-ed. a. 16, 1928.

JOHN uAssAnEL'LA, or CINCINNATI, 01110.

GONFEGTIONERY-COATING MACHINE.

Application filed October 2, 1926. Serial No. 139,191.

My invention relates to the manufacture of coated confections, and its object is to produce confections having the characteristics of hand-made confections, in conjunction with the use of a coating machine,

whereby the hand-made appearance of tlie Figure l'is a longitudinal vertical sectionof part of a coating machine with my im-. 2 provement incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view of the same; I

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of'parts of the conveyor web; v

Fig. 4 is a partial detail perspective view of she flow-dividing element and its support; an Fig. 5 is a similar view of said element,

looking from the opposite side thereof.

The coating machine partly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is of construction known in the art, comprising a frame lsupporting a conveyor frame 2 in which are .journaled two shafts with sprocket wheels 3 and 4, respectively, journaled thereon, around which pass pervious conveyor webs 5 and 6, respectively. The web 5.passes around a round rod 7 atthe left end of the machine, exteriorly of the enclosure 8 formed by the right hand portion of this web 5, with a plate 10 under this portion, very close to" the conveyor.

may be a frame 2 overthe tank 9 which is under'the my prior Patent No. 1,417,086 of May 23,

co-pending application Serial No. 549,151, filed April 3, 1922.

1922, and in my The curtain of coating material flows onto the flow-dividing element 14;, which is a flat bar supported bylegs 15 at its ends. These legshave their lower ends rabbeted at 16 (Fig. 5) to fitrabbeted edges 17 of the conveyor'frame sides 2 (Fig. 4) so that this ele ment 14 maybe slid along the frame 2 in either direction parallel with the'travel of This element 14 divides the flow or curtain A into two flows or curtains B and C. A device of this kind is shown in my co-pending application Serial No, 78,673, filed Dec. 31, 1925, but it is fixed, andnot adjustable along the conveyor. By this adjustment herein shown, the flow C may be made heavier than the flow B, or vice versa.

The right hand conveyor section or web 6, running around the driving sprocket wheel 4 at the right and around the broad fiat bar 18 'at 'the left end, with its upper stretch traveling to theleft, to deliver to the section or web 5, passes very close to this web 5 in passing down around the bar 18. The lower stretch, passing to the ri ht, passes down under a roller 19 jou'rnale in the conveyor frame 2 about midway of the length of the section, so that, from this roller 19 to its passage up around the drivingsprocket wheel 1, this lower stretch of the web 4 passes very closely along the flat upper surface of the bottom of the pan 20. The roller 19 also supports the upper stretch of the web against sagging. A suitable heater 21 is mounted under the pan 20,.and

heater.

22is provided, inside the frame enclosure (Fig. 2) overthe left hand section 5, to act' .90 gas, electric, or other suitable As is usual in coating machines, a blower h'ave passed under the fountain 11, for re-' moving surplus coating from the articles. Also, a trough 23, under this section 5- outside the enclosure, catches drippage, and

slopes toward and into the tank 9 to return v ce this drippage. 01113 the upper rim of this] tank 9 is shown (Fig, 1) and the driving connections for the conveyor driving sprocket wheels 3 and 4: are not shown, but thesemay be of any suitable kind, as for example as shown in my "patent or my application above mentioned. Also, it will be understood that each conveyor web 5 or 6 may have a number of the sprocket wheels 3 or 4, in a gang on the same shaft, at intervals acrossthe width of the web, as shown in the above prior devices; and the webs prefas seen at the right in Fig. 1, on the conveyor 6, to apply a fairly thick coating thereon, this coating bein taken from this conveyor 6 as brought up rom the bottom of the pan 20, where the material was allowed to co'ol-to the thick consistency required for hand operation, as compared with its-consistency when taken by this conveyor 6 from the other conveyor 5, insidethe frame enclosure, where the coating material is melted by the regular heating apparatus of the machine so as to run freely from the fountain 11 onto the goods and through the pervious conveyor 5 onto the plate 10, from which it is' picked up and applied to the conveyor 6 by the conveyor 5.

The uncoated confections may be brou ht to the conveyor 6 by hand, or by any suita le conveyor; and in any event, the operator is supplied with the thick coating material automatically by the conveyor 6, at the rate of machine operation, and after the operator has worked the coating onto the confection, it may be dropped onto the conveyor 6,'which will atonce carry it to the conveyor 5, which carries the confections under the element 14 to receive successive coatings B and C from the two parts B and G into which this ele-- ment divides the fountain discharge A.

.Then, these confections, which thus have been first hand-coated and then machinecoated, pass out of the frame enclosure, another operator picks them i1 and transfers them to plaques or trays to e carried awayfor cooling and packing; or any suitable conveyor may be provided to receive the confections from the operator thus picking them. from the conveyor 5. The working b hand atthe beginning, and the final disposition by hand, gives to the goods the individually distinctive appearance of handmade goods, yet the work is done at the rate of machine operation, and the machine coatmg gives a smoothness to the coating,and, by the application of the warm melted coats to the first hand coat, properly tempers the entire coating, affording the mechanical advantages of machine coating',in goods havingall the essential character of hand-made goods, at'less cost of production than allhand-made goods, where the operators have to make many more motions in the work than if aided by the machine as herein set forth.

The heater 21 under the pan 20 may be controlled so as to maintain the supply forhand coating at the right coolness and thickness; and the element 14, if adjusted to the left, tends to throw more of the melted coating A toward the right end of the conveyor 5, so that the conveyor 6 will receive run down to the plate 10 very close to this conveyor 6. It will be understood that the plate l0 has its edges spaced away from the.v sides of the frame 1 and tank 9, so that the coating material not picked up by the conveyor 5 runs back into the tank 9, as fully V a heavier supply of the coating, which has disclosed in my patent and application before mentioned. Coating material not taken from the upcoming conveyor web 5 by the web 6 is carried along on the upper stretch of the Web 5, and the goods coming from the conveyor-'6 are deposited on this carried coating, receiving their bottom coatings from this. Of course, as the fountain has made in practice Well known in-theart, 1ts

outlet maybe adjusted to vary the entire supply of coating material for all of these purposes;

The bar 18, in addition'to affording a it will be understood that I am not limited to the specific example herein set forth, buthaving thus exemplified my invention, what support and guide for the web 6, acts as an I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: y I

1. In combination, an endless web conveyor, means fordepositing coating material on said conveyor, a second endless web conveyor delivering articles to the-first conveyor, and means whereby the first conveyor applies a substantial part of said coating material to said second conveyor.

2. In combination, an endless web con veyor, means supplying a stream of coating material to said conveyor, a second endless web conveyor deliveringarticles to the first conveyor, means whereby the first conve or applies a substantial part of said coating material to'said second conveyor, :and means for dividing the flow of said stream into a plurality of parts, one of which parts is nearer said'second conveyor than another of said parts.

3. In combination, an endless web conveyor, means supplying a stream of coating material to said conveyor, a second endless web conveyor delivering articles to the first h material to said second conveyor, and means adjustable toward or away from said second conveyor, dividing the flow of said stream into a plurality of parts, one of which parts is nearer said second conveyor than another of said parts and is increased or decreased in volume as said means is adjusted away from or toward said second conveyor.

4. In combination, two ,pervious endless web conveyors, one receiving articles from the other, means discharging coating substance onto articles on the one conveyor, and a plate under this one conveyor catching coating substance from said conveyor and reapplying the caught substance to said conveyor, said otherconveyor running close to. that part of the one conveyor passing from said plate, so as toreceive part of said reapplied substance to be carried by this other conveyor into position for application of this received substance by hand to the articles on' this other conveyor, as a hand coating previous to the coating applied on the'one conveyor.

5. In combination, two pervious' endless web conveyors, one receiving articles from the other, means discharging coating sub.-

stance onto articles'onthe one conveyor, a.

plate under this one conveyor catching coating substance from said conveyor and reappiying the caught substance V to said conveyor, said other conveyor running around a narrow edge of a flat bar guide close to that part of the one conveyor passing from said plate, soas toreceive part of said reapplied substance,-means having a flat surface under this other conveyor, a roller causing this other'conveyor to pass, with its received substance, close along said surface,

and means whereby this other conveyor car ries thisreceived substance up from said.

surface into position for application of this received substance by hand to the articles on this other conveyor,.'as a hand coating pre vious to the coating applied on the one conveyor,-said means having a flat surface subjecting said substance, while traveling therealong, to conditions adding to its thickness of consistency relative to the consistency said substance had as discharged onto theone conveyor. v

- 6. The method of coating confections which consists of working a coating of thick consistency onto the confection by hand, depositing the thus coated confection on a pervious carrier having a coating of thick consistency, to bottom the confection, then passing the thus ,coated and bottomed confection to a pervious carrier having. a supply of coating material of thinner consistency and moving said carrier to passsaid confection through a stream of said coating material of thinner consistency, then finally disposing of the confection by hand, to allow hardening of the coatings.

JOHN MASSARELLA. 

